One of Larry Coryell's greatest albums ever! Barefoot Boy is a much more expansive session than some of Coryell's others, fueled in part by the spiritual intensity of the Impulse Records generation. It's got a momentum that's pretty darn exciting throughout – but the compositions are nice and long, which gives the players plenty of space to explore. Personnel includes Steve Marcus on tenor and soprano sax, Mike Mandel on piano, Roy Haynes on drums, and Larry Killian on congas – working with Coryell on long trippy tracks that remind us a bit of 60s work by Chico Hamilton, Charles Lloyd, and Gabor Szabo. Titles include "Call To The Higher Consciousness", "The Great Escape", and "Gypsy Queen". CD

The great lost Darondo album – amazing Bay Area funky soul from a singular talent – and material that we did not even know existed! It was cut for Ray Dobard's Music City label – purportedly in just a couple of marathon sessions – most of which we've never heard before now, which is mindblowing in and of itself, as we had thought Ubiquity Records mined what little was available of Darondo for their killer Let My People Go compilation. Lo and behold – here's some more, and it's just as incredible! Slinky, stripped down funk and some sweeter soul that's as much influenced by Memphis recordings as it is the Bay Area – but all with Darondo's distinctive, freewheeling gritty baritone and when the mood strikes, piercing falsetto vocals. A total treasure! It has 10 tracks and approximates the album as it should have been issued in 1974 – with "I Don't Understand It", "I'm Gonna Love You", "Didn't I", "Luscious Lady", "Saving My Love", "Gimme Some", "Do You Really Love Me", "Listen To My Song" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Funky organ, hard tenor sax, and plenty of choppy guitar make this another jazz funk gem in the crown of the legendary Funk Inc! The group are still totally at the top of their game here – stepping out with a deep, soulful Indy-bred blend of jazz and funk – a groove that was easily one of the hippest going in the early 70s Prestige Records scene – and that's saying a lot, given the company the label was keeping at the time! The record's got one track that features some nice soulful vocals – the political cut "Let's Make Peace & Stop The War" – but the best cuts are the instrumentals, grooving along hard in the band's best modal funky tradition! Titles include "The Better Half", "Jung Bungo", and "Running Away". LP, Vinyl record album

Tasty bluesy organ material from Prestige, featuring 2 hard-to-find records, back-to-back in a single set! Billy Hawks sings and plays organ with a groove that's in between jazz, blues, and deep soul. On New Genius Of The Blues he's fronting a trio that includes a young Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones on guitar, and the group plays a few instrumentals with some excellent organ/guitar interchange. Some of the material here is a bit bluesy, but there's also still a relatively strong soul jazz component as well – one that comes through in the overall structure of the tunes, and in the lean style in which they were recorded. Titles include "Hawks Blues", "Let Me Love You Before You Go", "Got My Mojo Working", "Mean Woman Blues" and more. More Heavy Soul is the rarest of his albums for Prestige – and on this one he plays organ in a style that's more in keeping with some of the funky jazz artists on the label – especially on the instrumental tracks, which give a lot more room to the instrumental solos. There's a great instrumental groover called "That's Your Bag" that's right up with the best of the Prestige funky jazz tracks from the 60s, and even the vocal cuts are really nice, as Billy has a good soulful singing style. He's backed here by Buddy Terry and Maynard Parker, and other tracks include "Heavy Soul", "Whip It On Me", and "I'll Be Back". 19 tracks in all! CD

A great 2-in-1 CD that combines the last two albums that Ivan Boogaloo Joe Jones cut for Prestige! Unlike some of the other players on Prestige during the early 70s – who often got a bit weaker as the decade moved on, thanks to the departure of some of the better forces arranging and producing the records – Jones kept on playing hard, improving his guitar skill to a point where he was riffing and grooving away at a pace that's simply mindblowing when you hear it. Case in point is the mighty "Black Whip", a fantastic bit of funky jazz that cracks back and forth with all the whiplike qualities hinted at in the title – and which has a totally infectious jazz dance groove that always gets us on the floor. Other titles include the original groovers "Freak Off", "Snake Rhythm Rock", "Big Bad Midnight Roller", "Hoochie Coo Chickie", and "Crank Me Up", both tasty numbers, plus some mellow pop covers like "My Love" and "Daniel". CD

Killer set that combines both of Johnny's rare albums cut for the tiny Tuba label in the mid 60s! The records both have a great funky vibes sound, with lots of tight drumming, and soulful bubbling organ grooves. These are very sought after in their original pressings, and both LPs usually fetch upwards of $40 when we get them in – and they fly right out the door as soon as they hit the web. Loop is the rarer of Johnny Lytle's two albums for the obscure Tuba label from Detroit. Johnny's classic trio, with Peppy Hinnant on organ, is backed by a larger group that features Wynton Kelly on piano and Willie Rodriguez on conga. New and Groovy is very nicely stripped down - and the focus of the album is on down-and-dirty groovers, perfect for the jazzy stepper set that still digs Lytle loads! Loads of short groovy steppin jazz vibes cuts, like "The Loop", "The Man", "The Snapper", "Selim", and way way more! CD

A beautiful live set from drummer Ed Thigpen – a player who's continued to grow tremendously as the years move along, and who almost sounds better here in this recent recording than he did on any of his classic records! The performance features Ed alongside two younger Danish players – bassist Jesper Bodislen and pianist Carsten Dahl, the latter of whom brings an incredible depth to the album with his fluid touch on the keys – and a level of playing that's a perfect accompaniment for Thigpen's melodic work on the drum kit. Both Dahl and Thigpen contributed some excellent original tunes to the album – which sit nicely alongside invetive arrangements of a few familiar older numbers. And despite the fact that the album's a piano trio recording, Thigpen's approach to the whole format really breaks the mold – and the album might overall be considered a "rhythm with piano" record, instead of the other way around! Titles include "Meaning", "Cosmic Voyage", "Cloud Break", "Gule Blomster", "Ed's Hat", and "Shufflin Along". CD

A key part of the initial tremendous legacy of X – one of the greatest run of records that any group could ever hope for! This third set has the group honing and refining their sound even more – losing none of their roots in the LA hardcore scene, but also inflecting their sound with a complexity that none of their previous scenemates could match – a sense of musicianship that was never too polished, but always razor sharp – at a level that brought even more righteous power to their lyrics and completely unique songplay. The quartet are one of the greatest ever in rock and roll – and this album's a classic that transcends time and style – essential listening on a shortlist of the best guitar-based sounds of the late 20th century. Titles include "The Hungry Wolf", "Riding With Mary", "Under The Big Black Sun", "Blue Spark", "Because I Do", and "Motel Room In My Bed". 5 bonus tracks including "Breathless (single mix)", "Riding With Mary (single version)", "X Rewrites El Paso (rehearsha)/Because I Do (TV mix/inst)", "Universal Corner (live)" and "How I (Learned My Lesson) (live)", for a total of 16 songs in all CD

Beautifully spiritual jazz from the post-Coltrane generation – a wealth of righteous grooves from the early 70s – brought together in one mighty collection! If you dig the work of Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, and other giants on Impulse Records, this is a great way to dig even deeper – and hear the way their late 60s legacy inspired other musicians to new heights in their own music – sounds that hit a new level of freedom in jazz, yet which are still filled with enough swing and soul to avoid some of the more avant modes of the free jazz scene! If that description sounds a bit obtuse, then just plug into the collection, and let the music do its thing – as it's got a very powerful vibe throughout – the kind of inspirational, socially conscious work that flourished best during the 70s – and which is finally getting its due all these many years later. The package is new territory for Ace/BGP, but they've done a great job as usual – picking key tracks from the era, and coming up with detailed notes on each of the long tracks. Titles include "Free Angela" by Bayete, "Bridge Into The New Age" by Azar Lawrence, "Tress Cun De O La" by Joe Henderson, "Ebony Queen" by McCoy Tyner, "Peace" by Idris Muhammad, "Mother Of The Future" by Norman Connors, "Brown Warm & Wintry" by Jack DeJohnette, "I've Known Rivers" by Gary Bartz, and "Fire" by Joe Henderson & Alice Coltrane. CD

An absolute funky monster! This set lays out an incredible batch of funk era singles from the vaults of Galaxy Records – and it shakes and burns all the way through, with lost funk bombs Bobby Rush, Rodger Collins, Bill Coday, Bobby Eaton, the Debonairs and others! It's comprised of mostly obscure 45s representing the stone funkiest records ever released by the Oakland-based Galaxy label – which was at this point sort of serving as the farm club for big brother label Fantasy Records. This one's essential, kids – just as worthy of your funk-loving dollar as the legendary rare funk compilations on Jazzman, Soul Fire or Stones Throw! 22 tracks in all: "Foxy Girls In Oakland", "Get Your Lie Straight", "Chicken Heads" by Bobby Rush, "Bring It On Up" by Loleatta Holloway, "I Love Her Too" by Lenny Williams, "People Say" by JJ Malone, "Try The Life" by Everyday People, "Man Power" (previously unreleased) by Ben & Larry, "My Money Is Funny" by the Right Kind, "The Iron Horse" by Merl Saunders & Heavy Turbulence, "I Get What I Want" by the Sequins and lots more! CD

A host of wonderful work produced by James Brown – most of it by a range of different singers, and one by The Godfather himself! The collection brings together some of the earliest James Brown productions – mid 60s tracks recorded for King and Smash Records, most of which aren't nearly as well known as later JB productions for the People and Polydor labels! As with that later work, all the grooves here are right in the same territory that James was hitting himself – upbeat, funky, and stone out of sight soul – all with plenty of rough edges, and backings from the same tight core of musicians that were helping out Brown on his recordings. The package is a real treasure – and is a great complement to the James Brown Singles collections from the Hip-O Select label – proof that even in these early days, James was clearly the hardest working man in show business – given all his time in the studio with other artists! 22 tracks in all – including "I Found Out" and "I'll Keep Pressing On" by Bobby Byrd, "That's When I Cry" and "If You Don't Think" by Anna King, "I Don't Care" and "Unexplainable" by Dizzy Jones, "Got No Excuse" and "If You Don't Work You Can't Eat" by James Crawford, "Do You Really Want To Rescue Me (part 1)" by Elsie Mae, "Lookie Lookie Lookie" by The Jewells, "Wide Awake In A Dream" and "Nobody Cares" by Vicki Anderson, "Devil's Den" by The Poets, "It Hurts To Be In Love" by Yvonne Fair, "That's The Spirit" by Rev Willingham, "Faith" by The Five Royales, "I Cried" by Tammy Montgomery, "Soul Food (parts 1 & 2)" by Al Brisco Clark, and "New Breed (The Boo Ga Loo) (part 1)" by James Brown. CD

More funky breaks than Evel Knevel after the Snake River Canyon jump! The groove hounds at BGP records were set loose on the Ace catalog – which includes holdings from Atlantic, Stax, Volt, Westbound, and other funky classic labels – and they managed to come up with a killer batch of funky cuts, even though this is their 3rd dip into the crates! If anything, perhaps they dipped even deeper this time – especially as some of the once-trusted sources for breaks, like the famous Ultimate Breaks & Beats series, are now disappearing from the market. Titles include "Soul Pad" by The Coasters, "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" by Johnny Jenkins, "T Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye, "Nappy Dugout" by Funkadelic, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Jimmy Ponder, "Get Out Of My Life Woman" by The Mad Lads, "The Rose" by 50 Foot Hose, "Holy Ghost" by The Bar Kays, "No Strings Attached" by The Mad Lads, "After Laughter Comes Tears" by Wendy Rene, "River's Invitation" by Freddie Robinson, "This House Is Smokin" by BT Express, "Music Man (parts 1 & 2)" by Pleasure Web, and "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" by David Porter. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most legendary albums of jazz funk ever recorded! Rufus Harley was a saxophone player who also picked up the bagpipes for a few excellent 60s albums for Atlantic Records – and although those records are great, this 1972 independent album is a real mind blower! By the time of this set, Rufus had really stretched out – both creatively and spiritually – working his standard bagpipe jazz groove into a much trippier sound, one that explored the tonal and modal properties of the instrument. Not only that, Rufus got a lot funkier than ever before – working here with organist Bill Mason, a sonic contemporary of Leon Spencer and Charles Earland – and the resultant mix of organ and bagpipes creates a monstrous sound that's unlike anything we can describe! The album's a mixture of Sufi and Biblical statements – fused into long funky jazz tracks, stretching out into some incredible grooves. Includes the classic "Malika", plus the cuts "Etymology", "Hypothesis", and "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen", done in a great heavy version! LP, Vinyl record album

One of Oscar Peterson's biggest records ever – one of those albums we turn up time and time again when digging through classic jazz collections – and for good reason too, given the lasting power of the set! The album's got a rock-solid sound that's filled with soul – almost a bit more down and dirty than some of Peterson's earlier work, very much in the spirit of the group's hit performance of the title track. In a way, the album's almost Oscar's answer to some of the rising younger stars in the soul jazz scene – and is proof that the master still can do things as great as the artists he inspired. Ray Brown is on bass and Ed Thigpen is on drums – and tracks include "Bag's Groove", "Georgia On My Mind", "Easy Does It", "Band Call", and "Night Train". CD

A killer – and one of the greatest records ever cut on Bethlehem! Charlie Rouse and Paul Quinichette go head to head in a hard-blown session that's very different than most of the work on Bethlehem – grooving in a free-wheeling "chase" mode, as you might guess from the title – with lots of heavy tenor in the lead, cooking at a level that's more like a Prestige or Savoy session from the 50s! The group's as tight as can be – with some killer drum work from Ed Thigpen, and piano by either Wynton Kelly or Hank Jones. Titles include "The Chase Is On", "You're Cheating Yourself", "Knittin", "Tender Trap", and "When The Blues Come On". LP, Vinyl record album

(Original red label pressing, with deep groove – nice and clean! Cover is nice, too – save for one small split in a bottom corner.)

One of our favorite Cal Tjader albums ever – and one of the first to have his vibes working alongside Fender Rhodes! The record's a surprising little set from the start of the 70s – one that almost has Cal picking up some of the New York sounds of a few years before, then mixing them up with a hipper west coast electric style in the end – a Fantasy Records vibe that meshes together a few different modes, and comes up with a rich new style in the process! There's a bit of vocals on the set – somewhat unusual for Cal Tjader, and often used to augment the soulfully snapping grooves of the best tunes – but even more amazing is the heavy use of Fender Rhodes, played here by the amazing Al Zulaica, who's work on the album really ranks right up there with the best early 70s keyboardists on the coast! Zulaica's piano is amazing next to Cal's warmly chromatic vibes – and other instrumentation includes saxes from Bill Perkins, flute from Mel Martin, trumpet from Luis Gasca, moog from Rita Dowling, and percussion from both Pete and Coke Escovedo. Titles include the killer "Aqua Dulce (Cool-Ade)", a fantastic version of "Gimme Shelter", a sublime of Clare Fischer's "Morning", and the cuts "Ran Kan Kan", "Descarga Cubana", "Curacao", and "Somewhere In The Night". CD

Two of the best west coast boppers of the postwar years – back together again in a killer revival date cut by Contemporary Records! As the title implies, the set's got a backward-looking sort of feel – at least for the early 60s recording date – but from the perspective of our generation, the whole thing merges nicely into the classic sound of LA bop – perhaps extending out the original Central Ave groove a bit more, thanks to the generous recording spirit of Contemporary, and the longer tracks on the date. Edwards plays tenor, McGhee plays trumpet, and other players include Phineas Newborn on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. Titles include "Together Again", "You Stepped Out Of A Dream", "Up There", "Perhaps", "Misty" and "Sandy". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer – and one of the greatest records ever cut on Bethlehem! Charlie Rouse and Paul Quinichette go head to head in a hard-blown session that's very different than most of the work on Bethlehem – grooving in a free-wheeling "chase" mode, as you might guess from the title – with lots of heavy tenor in the lead, cooking at a level that's more like a Prestige or Savoy session from the 50s! The group's as tight as can be – with some killer drum work from Ed Thigpen, and piano by either Wynton Kelly or Hank Jones. Titles include "The Chase Is On", "You're Cheating Yourself", "Knittin", "Tender Trap", and "When The Blues Come On". LP, Vinyl record album

Our favorite-ever album from Gil Scott-Heron – and a set that we'd easily rank as one of our favorite soul records of the 70s! The mix of modes is mindblowing right from the start – as Gil's poetry comes into play with his growing talents as a singer, and his warm sensibility for jazz – all at a level that's light years ahead of anything any singer would have attempted a few years before – and which went onto have a huge influence for years to come. If you only know Gil from his protest work, there's a lot more here to discover – the bittersweet blend of pain and power that's always made him so fantastic. And yes, the record does include the groundbreaking "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" – but what we treasure even more is all the more personal numbers – including "Lady Day & John Coltrane", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "The Needle's Eye", "I Think I'll Call It Morning", "Save The Children", and "Pieces Of A Man". Brilliant all the way through! CD features three bonus tracks by Gil's group Black & Blues – "Chains", "Peace", and "A Toast To The People". CD

One of Lonnie Liston Smith's most spiritual sessions, and the record that most clearly shows his roots with Pharoah Sanders! The vibe here is much more jazz-based than on some of Lonnie's other records for Flying Dutchman – with Smith playing as much acoustic piano as he does electric, using the former in long-spiralling lines that have a beautifully meditative quality, and which give the album a real Strata East-like sound. Mtume and Sonny Morgan play percussion, Cecil McBee plays bass, and the real star of the album may well be George Barron – who turns in some beautiful Sonny Fortune-like work on tenor and soprano sax! Titles include "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord", "Rejuvenation", "Astral Traveling", "I Mani", "Aspirations", and "In Search Of Truth". The CD includes alternate takes of "Astral Traveling", "Rejuvenation", "Imani", and "In Search Of Truth". CD

One of THE greatest Verve albums of the 60s – an incredible set that's one of the few older records made as a leader by drummer Ed Thigpen! The sound here is incredibly hard to describe – a light mix of guitar from Kenny Burrell, piano from Herbie Hancock, and trumpet from Clark Terry – all dancing along in a spare, breezy, and highly rhythmical way – while Thigpen himself works the drum kit in this breezy, lyrical, and almost melody-driven way! The album's strongly modern in thinking, but also still nicely swinging, and with a warmth that grabs the listener right away. Titles include "Heritage", "Elbow & Mouth", "Struttin With Some Barbecue", "Cielito Lindo", and "Out Of The Storm". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite Cal Tjader albums ever – and one of the first to have his vibes working alongside Fender Rhodes! The record's a surprising little set from the start of the 70s – one that almost has Cal picking up some of the New York sounds of a few years before, then mixing them up with a hipper west coast electric style in the end – a Fantasy Records vibe that meshes together a few different modes, and comes up with a rich new style in the process! There's a bit of vocals on the set – somewhat unusual for Cal Tjader, and often used to augment the soulfully snapping grooves of the best tunes – but even more amazing is the heavy use of Fender Rhodes, played here by the amazing Al Zulaica, who's work on the album really ranks right up there with the best early 70s keyboardists on the coast! Zulaica's piano is amazing next to Cal's warmly chromatic vibes – and other instrumentation includes saxes from Bill Perkins, flute from Mel Martin, trumpet from Luis Gasca, moog from Rita Dowling, and percussion from both Pete and Coke Escovedo. Titles include the killer "Aqua Dulce (Cool-Ade)", a fantastic version of "Gimme Shelter", a sublime of Clare Fischer's "Morning", and the cuts "Ran Kan Kan", "Descarga Cubana", "Curacao", and "Somewhere In The Night". CD

Jazzy 45s galore – and a huge dip into the vaults of Prestige Records! This tasty set brings together 18 classics recorded in the heyday of the jazz funk years at Prestige – the late 60s and early 70s, a time when the soul jazz sounds of previous years were being forged into a leaner, meaner, harder-hitting groove. And although the LP was the growing format during these days, there was actually a heck of a lot of great work issued on 45s – still spinning strong with the jukebox crowds in the clubs and tap rooms, and still getting major play on radio stations, where the single was still king. The set features many 45 mixes of funky classics that you might know from LPs – and intersperses them with some other more obscure numbers pulled from full albums – making for an all-solid, all-funky set of tracks from one of the hippest jazz labels ever! Titles include "Fire Eater" by Rusty Bryant, "Don't Knock My Love" by Idris Muhammad, "Jungle Strut" by Gene Ammons, "Express Yourself" by Idris Muhammad, "Right On" by Boogaloo Joe Jones, "Who's Gonna Take The Weight" by Melvin Sparks, "Sing A Simple Song" by Charles Earland, "Son Of Man" by Houston Person, "Listen Here (part 1)" by Freddie McCoy, "Black Talk (part 1)" by Charles Earland, "Message From The Meters" by Leon Spencer, "Reelin With The Feeling" by Charles Kynard, "I Want You Back" by Harold Mabern, and "Thank You (part 1)" by Melvin Sparks. LP, Vinyl record album

Really classic jazz grooves from the vaults of Prestige Records – the kind of cuts that first broke big on the London scene of the 80s, at a time when diggers were setting fire to the rare groove scene too! The cuts here are proof that some of the best work doesn't need to come from completely obscure groups or super-tiny labels – as the music here is exactly the kind of work that made huge waves in the US jazz scene when first released, then went underground for many years – until later collectors and diggers brought it back to the limelight! The great thing is how many of these cuts are all acoustic – no need for electricity to make things funky – as you'll hear on tracks that include "Hiyo Silver" by Bennie Green, "Grease Monkey" by Kenny Burrell with Jack McDuff, "Mau Mau" by Art Farmer, "Mambo Inn" by Billy Taylor with Candido, "Manteca" by Red Garland, "Blue Stompin" by Hal Singer, "Spider Man" by Freddie McCoy, "Filthy McNasty" by Eddie Jefferson, "Flatjacks" by Willie Rodriguez, "Blue Gator" by Willis Jackson, and "Pedro Stroller" by Johnny Lytle. CD

20 killer funky sample tracks – all pulled from the legendary holdings of ACE/BGP! Some of the tracks on here have appeared on other compilations, but the set's put together extremely well, and has more than enough funk for a whole crate of records! Nearly every cut's been sampled at least more than once – and titles include "Blind Alley" by The Emotions, "Chick A Boom" by Pazant Brothers, "Eva" by Jean Jacques Perry, "Walk Tall" by Cannonball Adderley, "Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms" by Detroit Emeralds, "Bouncy Lady" by Pleasure, "Tramp" by Lowell Fulson, "Take Yo Praise" by Camille Yarbrough, "Thinking Single" by The Counts, "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson, "Ike's Mood" by Isaac Hayes, "What A Man" by Linda Lynell, and "Smokey Joe's La La" by Googie Rene. Funky funky! CD

More funky breaks than Evel Knevel after the Snake River Canyon jump! The groove hounds at BGP records were set loose on the Ace catalog – which includes holdings from Atlantic, Stax, Volt, Westbound, and other funky classic labels – and they managed to come up with a killer batch of funky cuts, even though this is their 3rd dip into the crates! If anything, perhaps they dipped even deeper this time – especially as some of the once-trusted sources for breaks, like the famous Ultimate Breaks & Beats series, are now disappearing from the market. Titles include "Soul Pad" by The Coasters, "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" by Johnny Jenkins, "T Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye, "Nappy Dugout" by Funkadelic, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Jimmy Ponder, "Get Out Of My Life Woman" by The Mad Lads, "The Rose" by 50 Foot Hose, "Holy Ghost" by The Bar Kays, "No Strings Attached" by The Mad Lads, "After Laughter Comes Tears" by Wendy Rene, "River's Invitation" by Freddie Robinson, "This House Is Smokin" by BT Express, "Music Man (parts 1 & 2)" by Pleasure Web, and "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" by David Porter. LP, Vinyl record album

Not the classic version of this well-known tune, but a rare funky take from The Coasters – done during their brief late span at King Records! The groove is great – nice and romping, and graced with their excellent vocals – and the whole thing even includes a bit of a funky flute break towards the end! "Cool Jerk" is another cover, but given this fresh spin by the groove – with hip piano that almost feels more Latin soul in the way it grooves! 7-inch, Vinyl record

The legendary Fame Gang finally gets their due – in this CD that's overflowing with tight funky instrumentals, most of which have never been issued at all! The "best" in the title is certainly well-put – given the quality of the music – but don't think "hits", as 18 of the CD's 25 tracks have never been issued before – which makes the whole collection way more of a discovery than you might expect! Back in the late 60s, the Fame Gang were the house rhythm section at Fame Records down in Muscle Shoals – as important as the Mar-Keys, Bar-Kays, or MGs were over at Stax Records – and graced with not only an impeccable sense of groove, but also a really bold, soulful flair on their horns! There's no vocals here at all – and the cuts feature loads of tenor, guitar, and organ solos over rhythms that are easily some of the funkiest ever cut at Fame studios. We're not entirely sure why these gems weren't released at the time – but they're all tremendous, and we're plenty happy to have them out now! Titles include "Smokestack Lightning", "Hey Joe", "Soul Stutterin", "Sunrise", "Walk Tall", "Rang's Thang", "Stand", "Cannonball", "Muscle Soul", "Shufflin", "Sax Appeal", "Crime Don't Pay", and "Groove Killer". CD

Dexter Gordon in one of his greatest settings ever – playing live in the familiar confines of the Montmartre jazz club in Copenhagen, with sublime trio backing from Kenny Drew! The tracks are long and open – that style that Dex perfected with Steeplechase Records, which provides such a great showcase for his solo talents – and the album's a great illustration of why we never get tired of Gordon in this format! Each track pushes the 10 minute mark – and Dexter's got this bold, strong tone on tenor – but also these personal, very feeling qualities as well – the undercurrent of soul that he never seemed to develop until the later years of his life – underscored by Drew's work on piano, plus Mads Vinding on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums. Tracks include the long originals "Sticky Vicket", "Candlelight Lady", "Montmartre", and "The Rainbow People" – plus "Old Folks" and "There Is No Greater Love". CD

Tasty bluesy organ material from Prestige, featuring 2 hard-to-find records, back-to-back in a single set! Billy Hawks sings and plays organ with a groove that's in between jazz, blues, and deep soul. On New Genius Of The Blues he's fronting a trio that includes a young Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones on guitar, and the group plays a few instrumentals with some excellent organ/guitar interchange. Some of the material here is a bit bluesy, but there's also still a relatively strong soul jazz component as well – one that comes through in the overall structure of the tunes, and in the lean style in which they were recorded. Titles include "Hawks Blues", "Let Me Love You Before You Go", "Got My Mojo Working", "Mean Woman Blues" and more. More Heavy Soul is the rarest of his albums for Prestige – and on this one he plays organ in a style that's more in keeping with some of the funky jazz artists on the label – especially on the instrumental tracks, which give a lot more room to the instrumental solos. There's a great instrumental groover called "That's Your Bag" that's right up with the best of the Prestige funky jazz tracks from the 60s, and even the vocal cuts are really nice, as Billy has a good soulful singing style. He's backed here by Buddy Terry and Maynard Parker, and other tracks include "Heavy Soul", "Whip It On Me", and "I'll Be Back". 19 tracks in all! CD

A funky party all the way through – and the one and only album we've ever seen from Johnny Otis main tenor player in the 60s! The set's got a vibe that's much funkier than some of Johnny's own records of previous years – and really shows that looser, more open style he was bringing to his ensemble at the time – and in addition to Preston's tenor, the set's also got work by a young Shuggie Otis – who's really wailing with some trippy licks on guitar! The overall feel is very much in the funky 45 mode – and most cuts are instrumentals, occasionally with a bluesy twist – and one number – "Cool Ade" – has a hip call-response vocal that's mighty nice! Other titles are equally sweet – and include "Hoe Cakes & Sorghum", "Cream Dream", "Neck Bones", "Chili Mac", and "Pot Likker". LP, Vinyl record album

"What A Man" is one of the greatest funky singles ever recorded by Stax Records! You may know the cut from a famous sample years back by Salt N Pepa, but Linda's version is the one to hear – a proud-stepping groover with heavy drums, a great bassline, and some wangly guitar that grooves nicely around some piano bits – all in the 15 seconds before Linda comes in and socks it home on vocals! "O Baby" is a tightly snapping groover from Billy Hawks – a bit of a bluesy sound on the vocals, but some fast drums and organ riffs that keep the whole number dancing nicely with a fresh and righteous approach! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Killer set that combines both of Johnny's rare albums cut for the tiny Tuba label in the mid 60s! The records both have a great funky vibes sound, with lots of tight drumming, and soulful bubbling organ grooves. These are very sought after in their original pressings, and both LPs usually fetch upwards of $40 when we get them in – and they fly right out the door as soon as they hit the web. Loop is the rarer of Johnny Lytle's two albums for the obscure Tuba label from Detroit. Johnny's classic trio, with Peppy Hinnant on organ, is backed by a larger group that features Wynton Kelly on piano and Willie Rodriguez on conga. New and Groovy is very nicely stripped down - and the focus of the album is on down-and-dirty groovers, perfect for the jazzy stepper set that still digs Lytle loads! Loads of short groovy steppin jazz vibes cuts, like "The Loop", "The Man", "The Snapper", "Selim", and way way more! CD

Our favorite-ever album from Gil Scott-Heron – and a set that we'd easily rank as one of our favorite soul records of the 70s! The mix of modes is mindblowing right from the start – as Gil's poetry comes into play with his growing talents as a singer, and his warm sensibility for jazz – all at a level that's light years ahead of anything any singer would have attempted a few years before – and which went onto have a huge influence for years to come. If you only know Gil from his protest work, there's a lot more here to discover – the bittersweet blend of pain and power that's always made him so fantastic. And yes, the record does include the groundbreaking "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" – but what we treasure even more is all the more personal numbers – including "Lady Day & John Coltrane", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "The Needle's Eye", "I Think I'll Call It Morning", "Save The Children", and "Pieces Of A Man". Brilliant all the way through! LP, Vinyl record album

20 killer funky sample tracks – all pulled from the legendary holdings of ACE/BGP! Some of the tracks on here have appeared on other compilations, but the set's put together extremely well, and has more than enough funk for a whole crate of records! Nearly every cut's been sampled at least more than once – and titles include "Blind Alley" by The Emotions, "Chick A Boom" by Pazant Brothers, "Eva" by Jean Jacques Perry, "Walk Tall" by Cannonball Adderley, "Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms" by Detroit Emeralds, "Bouncy Lady" by Pleasure, "Tramp" by Lowell Fulson, "Take Yo Praise" by Camille Yarbrough, "Thinking Single" by The Counts, "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson, "Ike's Mood" by Isaac Hayes, "What A Man" by Linda Lynell, and "Smokey Joe's La La" by Googie Rene. Funky funky! LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the greatest album ever from Side Effect – a wonderful set that mixes their soulful harmonies with some killer jazz funk from Wayne Henderson! The album may be the most perfect realization of the groove that Henderson was going for during his At Home Productions years – lots of funky fusion in the instrumentation, but all directed towards a tighter, more soul-based style – that perfect contribution that Fantasy Records made to the world in the 70s – after labels like Blue Note and Columbia first started setting things down. Whatever the chronology, though, this set's a standout no matter how you slice it – damn catchy tunes, incredible vocals, and a set of rhythms that are every bit as hip today as they were back when first recorded – really genre-defining grooves that you'll definitely recognize in the album's classics "Always There" and "Keep That Same Old Feeling" – and will go on to love in the cuts "Life Is What You Make It", "Changes", "I Know You Can", "SOS", "Time Has No Ending", "Finally Found Someone", and "Honky Tonk Scat". CD

A different groove than usual from the mighty Snowboy – not the Latin you may know from his own records, or the funk you'll find on his other compilations – but instead a smoking batch of 60s soul, with a really wonderful batch of well-chosen cuts throughout! The album's a counterpart to Snowboy's hip Soho club night – and it's got the feel of mod London in the 60s, but the side of the city that was overflowing with appreciation for American soul, jazz, and R&B! Most artists here are familiar, but the cuts are mostly nice and obscure – really great singles and a few key album tracks – all the kind of wonderful numbers you'll only find at a set spun by a legendary DJ like this. Titles include "You Don't Love Me" by ZZ Hill, "Can't Shake It" by Etta James, "Soul Brothers Testify (part 2)" by Chester Randle's Soul Senders, "Just A Mistake" by The Barrino Brothers, "Coming Back To Me Baby" by James Carr, "Boys" by The Shirelles, "Nuthern Like Thuthern" by Willis Jackson, "Do The See Saw" by The Contours, "The Watusi Roll" by Hank Marr, "Looking At The Future" by Little Johnny Taylor, "Misery" by The Dynamics, "I Say You're Driving Me Crazy" by Dorothy Berry, "I'll Give You My Love" by Sun Ann Jones, and "Baby Don't You Know" by The Brownettes. CD